


Prompts and One Shots

by Twiliger



Category: One Piece
Genre: M/M, ZoSan - Freeform, ZoSanZo, one shots
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2014-07-23
Updated: 2014-10-29
Packaged: 2018-02-10 04:20:31
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 12
Words: 12,116
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/2010720
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Twiliger/pseuds/Twiliger
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>A collection of one shots and prompts for zosanzo. Ratings will vary. Feel free to drop by any ideas or requests!</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Lie to Me

Anon: Would you have enough time/interest to write a little fic where either Sanji or Zoro is for some reason forced to take a polygraphy test and the other one is asking some stupid embarrassing questions…???

Here you go anon!

 

 

* * *

 

 

“I still can’t believe the station just gave it to you, Zoro!” Usopp said excitedly while Zoro plugged another wire into his computer from the polygraph machine. Outside the one-room apartment, rain pelted heavily against the windows, a loud constant drumming filled the air occasionally accompanied by loud claps of thunder that shook the room.

“Yeah, Zoro this is so cool!” Luffy bounced up and down happily next to Zoro on the floor, tugging at Zoro’s police uniform that he had been too lazy to take off since he got home. Luffy and Usopp had been playing video games on his TV when he arrived; apparently the power had gone out at their house. Sanji had been in the kitchen, having been dragged out of his own apartment into Zoro’s to cook for the two idiots.

 “So you actually know how to read this thing?” Usopp asked, jumping at a particularly lively explosion of thunder. Zoro shrugged.

“Yeah, more or less, I’ve administered the test once or twice with more modern equipment.” The polygraph machines at the station like this one were recently replaced, the machine now hooked into the computer instead of writing the readings on a piece of paper, but the wires and attachments were pretty much the same.

“How come Sanji gets to take the test first?” Luffy whined in Zoro’s ear, pulling on his short green hair in annoyance.

“Yeah, why am I taking the test?” Sanji huffed from his spot on the floor, wiggling his fingers that were currently strapped and connected to the lie detector equipment. His blonde hair was slightly wavy and damp after being completely drenched from the trip over in the rain as Usopp and Luffy had neglected to bring an umbrella for Sanji too: a borrowed white tee hung from his lean frame and tightly tied grey sweats just barely rested at his narrow hips.

“Luffy’s an open book and the worst liar there ever was! It’d be pointless to test him!” Usopp mocked and gave Luffy with a playful shove.

“Am not!” A small wrestling match broke out on Zoro’s living room carpet.

“Oi oi! Don’t knock anything over this time!” But Zoro’s words lacked any real conviction; he was too busy trying to focus on hooking up the machine and not on the way the cook was biting his thin lips in place of a cigarette or how his drumming fingers were only inches from Zoro’s knee… Seriously, this damn cook had been nothing but trouble for Zoro since he met the bastard. It’s not fair that one man can be _this_ freaking attractive.

“It’s all set.” Zoro declared, efficiently drawing the fighting to a complete halt as the two morons scrambled to Zoro’s side. “Start talking.” He ordered.

“What?”

“Just start saying some things, talk about your day, I don’t care.”

“Okay… I woke up, went to the restaurant as always. Today I had a shorter shift than usual, this storm was making business really slow so we closed up earlier. I got home thinking I could catch up on organizing my recipes and books but no, these two idiots showed up and roped me into coming here. I made us all diner, and now I’m right here taking a shitty lie detector test for some reason.”

Everything was normal on the monitor, the machine was working all in accordance. Zoro could tell Sanji was getting nervous with all of this attention on him: Sanji was a total narcissist but if it wasn’t from praise he tried to avoid the spotlight. He kept getting little spikes here and there on the monitor; his heart rate was slowly rising.

“Alright, it looks like the thing is working. So, what’s your name?” Zoro prompted.

“Are you stupid?” Sanji asked with a dead neutral face.

“You’re name’s not ‘Are you stupid’ quit lying.” Sanji kicked Zoro’s shin. “Ow. I just need a few starter questions, it makes reading this thing easier. So I’ll ask again, what’s your name?”

“Sanji.”

“There you go. Are you a chef?”

“Yes.”

Zoro asked at least another 15 round about questions, rephrasing the same question a few times. There more they got into it the more Sanji began to relax, responding with ease. Though Usopp and Luffy looked like they were going to fall asleep from boredom.

“Uggggghhhhhhhh. Zoro this is boringgggggg.” Luffy nagged loudly, slumping onto Zoro’s shoulders.

“Alright, alright. You can start asking actual questions and I should be able to tell if he’s lying or not. The simpler the answer the better so try to keep it to yes and no questions.” Zoro grumbled as he shrugged Luffy off.

“Okay okay, I’ve got one. Did you really start smoking when you were 12 or is Zeff making that up?” Usopp asked.

“Yup, I did.” Sanji smirked. “I thought it would make me more mature, I was sick of the shitty old man treating me like a little kid. I paid a guy on the street twenty bucks to go buy them for me.”

“Truth.” Zoro confirmed.

“Yeesh, you were a dumb kid.” Usopp teased.

“Watch it long nose.” Sanji snapped.

“Uhh…. Ever been skinny dipping?” Luffy asked.

“Of course I have.” Sanji said with a sultry grin.

“Truth.”

“OH OH remember that time I found that pink dress in your closet? Did you ever wear it?” Usopp laughed out. Sanji’s cheeks grew a shade darker.

“NO.”

“Lie!” Zoro declared happily.

“What?! I am not lying!” The blond howled, his face a vermillion red.

“Sanji, are you a cross dresser?!” Usopp nearly fell back from laughing so hard.

“I AM NOT A CROSS DRESSER!”

“Okay, okay, that wasn’t a lie.” Zoro managed inbetween laughs. “I guess it was just a onetime thing, huh curly cue?”

“Shut the fuck up marimo.” Sanji growled. Luffy and Usopp were still a giggling mess on the floor, barely pulling themselves together.

“I’ve got a question, why do you wear your stupid hair like that?” Zoro questioned, gesturing to the bangs that hung over one of the blond’s eyes.

“It’s fashionable.” Sanji said with a shrug. Zoro raised an eyebrow.

“The polygraph says otherwise.” Sanji glared at Zoro, shifting his eyes around before settling back at Zoro.

“I… I just don’t… It’s dumb…” Sanji said quietly while looking down.

“What does that even mean?”

Sanji sighed before pulling up his bangs. His matching swirly eyebrows were drawn up in a worried scowl, his eyes looking down at the ground. Zoro couldn’t believe how ridiculously cute the blond looked.

 “I don’t know what you’re talking about Sanji, you look fine.” Usopp assured.

“You don’t look dumb, cook.” Muttered Zoro. Sanji dropped his bangs in surprise, a small smile tugged slightly at his lips. Suddenly Sanji’s eyes opened wide and he lifted his head to sniff the air.

“Shit, the cookies are going to burn!” He tried to stand but the equipment on him didn’t allow it. Usopp and Luffy were up in a flash, bounding towards the kitchen, pushing each other to try to be the first.

“YOU EACH ONLY GET TWO!” Sanji yelled after them. Sanji slumped down back to the floor and sighed. “They’re going to eat them all, the greedy bastards.” He muttered.

“Soooo…. You’re a part-time cross dresser?” Zoro teased. Sanji elbowed him in the gut.

“Not funny marimo, it was a ONETIME thing. I owed someone a favor….” He trailed off. Zoro shuffled slightly in his spot on the floor, suddenly finding it impossible to get comfortable. “Buuuut I am not a cross dresser. I’m straight.”

“You can be a cross dresser and be straight you know.” Zoro scoffed. “And come on, no one is dead straight.” Sanji’s face flushed a deep red and immediately looked away like looking at Zoro would burn him.

“Hell no, Marimo.”

“You’re telling me you’ve never thought about kissing a guy before?”

“It may have crossed my mind but I’d never act on it!”

“So you’re bi?”

“More like…. Figuring things out. Something’s come up in my life and I’m not really sure how to handle it.”

“What the hell does that even mean?”

“I plead the 5th!”

Zoro was right in front of the blond at this point, trying to get the blushing man to make eye contact with him.

“So… You have someone in mind?” He said slowly, willing Sanji to look back at him.

“It doesn’t even matter. They’re as asexual as a fucking plant.” Sanji said softly in exasperation, running a nervous hand through his hair in a way that made butterflies try flutter in his stomach.  Zoro took a deep breath to steel himself and then used a hand to turn the blond’s face to look at him.

“Hey Sanji? I kinda really like you.” Sanji looked back at Zoro with those wide blue eyes, blushing so furiously that the tips of his ears were nearly glowing pink. The heart monitor on the computer was going crazy.

“Do you like me too?” Zoro asked. Sanji gave him a light push.

“What are you in middle school or something?”

“That’s not an answer.”

“I… Yeah, I do.”

Zoro leaned in, causing Sanji to gasp quietly as he attempted to close the small gap between their lips slowly. Just as their lips barely touched, Usopp and Luffy came charging in and Sanji nearly leaped a foot in the air.

“Holy cow Sanji those cookies were so good!”

“God damn it you two get out of my house!” Zoro yelled. Sanji laughed beside him, nudging him slightly.

“It’s fine, marimo. We have plenty of time for you to ‘help me figure things out’.” Zoro turned back to Sanji in surprise.

“You mean… You want to be… A thing?” Zoro threw out awkwardly.

“I don’t see why not? I may be a little…confused, but I’m not a coward. I like a bit of a challenge. That is, if you’re willing?” Zoro couldn’t stop the grin that spilt across his face.

“Yeah, I’d like that a lot actually.”

“Good. Now get me out of this thing, I need to go replace what those two no doubt mowed down in my kitchen.”

“It’s not your kitchen cook!”

“Every kitchen is my kitchen, especially this one!”

Zoro could fight back a smile the rest of the night.

 


	2. Click-Clack-NO

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> This one was requested by Braindeadmaggot: Ok I’ve got one… You know how everyone is always asking for Sanji teaching Zoro how to cook? What about Zoro teaching Sanji and the cook fails miserably? I duno what, but something easy… Nothing to do with swords, knives or fighting… Maybe something that involves finger dexterity, like the guitar, piano or video games… Maybe Sanji would be really bad at board games or jenga… Wouldn't it be terrible of Sanji was a super slow, index finger, typer… Just imagine him trying to type an email…
> 
> I had a lot of fun writing this one

Zoro was walking past the bedroom in his boxers with a bowl of cereal cradled in his hand when he stopped mid-step to look at his boyfriend sitting on the bed, clacking away on his computer.

“What…. The hell are you doing?” Zoro asked slowly, looking at a scowling Sanji, whose soft face was lightly illuminated from his open laptop.

Sanji didn’t look up from his screen. “What does it look like shit face? I’m typing an email.” He continued to write away, ignoring the incredulous look on Zoro’s face as he entered the room.

“You’re kidding me right? You call _that_ typing?”

“Hitting keys and words appear on a screen, yes, I’m typing you Neanderthal.” Sanji snapped.

“No, that is pecking.”

Sanji was currently typing one letter at a time with his index fingers out, poised like a strange little praying mantis as he tapped away. Despite impairing himself with his pathetic version of ‘typing’, Sanji was actually going pretty fast, at least for one finger typing, which could only mean he had long since perfected this horrible habit.

How a man who made a living off the skills with his hands and fingers had the worst possible typing habit Zoro couldn’t understand, but he was not about to let it go. Zoro set down his bowl on the wooden dresser as he approached the bed.

“Okay I am not going to let this slide, scoot over.” Zoro pushed a sulky Sanji to the side as he took a place on the bed. “Shouldn’t you have learned this shit in school or something? How the hell have you been playing video games with me online all this time?”

Zoro then grabbed Sanji by the hips and hoisted him into his lap; the blond went rigid with annoyance and tightly grasped the lap top.

“Knock it off Marimo, I’m not in the mood.” Trying to kick his way out of the larger man’s hold, but Zoro didn’t allow it, using his legs to effectively keep the cook in place. He reached around the man’s torso and slapped Sanji’s hands away from the keys.

“THIS is how you’re supposed to have you hands when you type.” Placing his fingers in the correct position on the keyboard in a matter-of-fact way. Sanji leaned back into Zoro’s chest, placing his hands on either side of Zoro’s hips.

“Fan-fucking-tastic moss head. Now give it back.” Zoro ignored Sanji and opened up a word doc, placing his chin on top of the blond’s.

“You place both index fingers here and here, and then just let your fingers fall into place.” Zoro forced Sanji’s hands down onto the keyboard, placing the long dainty fingers into the correct position.

"I don’t like it.”

“I don’t care.” Zoro flicked Sanji on the nose lightly and Sanji retaliated by shoving his head up to bonk Zoro’s chin. “You’re hands shouldn’t move much when you type, let your fingers do all the work. Now try writing out that email.”

Sanji started out going fast, typos everywhere, constantly going back to delete mistakes. Zoro gently grabbed onto the smaller man’s forearms, now resting his smarting chin on Sanji’s shoulder.

“Slow down.” He said into Sanji’s ear, blond strands moving so slightly from each word and breath. The cook did as he was told and typed each letter painfully slow, pressing harshly on each key. His typing began to slowly regress back to just his index fingers, as if Zoro wouldn’t notice.

“For real, shit cook? Like this.” He nudged his fingers on top of the blond’s, placing their fingers back to the correct position. “Come on, it’s not that hard.”

Zoro deleted all of Sanji’s work, a mess of barely coherent letters.

            ‘Sanji is a moron.’ Zoro typed onto the computer slowly, forcing Sanji to press each key.

“Hey!” Sanji muttered as he shouldered Zoro.

            ‘Zoro types better than Sanji.’

“Pushing it, moss head.” He quipped.

“Then show me you can do better.” Zoro challenged, removing his hands away to wrap his arms around the lean man’s waist, rubbing small patterns just above the blond’s hip bone.

            ‘Zoro will be sleeping alone tonight if he doesn’t watch it.’

Sanji went back to the tab he had previously opened and resumed typing the email, but this time he followed Zoro’s instructions and typed in the correct position at a snail’s pace. The cook would grumble a curse in French every now and then but he didn’t revert back to his chicken pecking.

“Thank god you’re a chef and not a novelist.” Zoro teased as he watched words slowly form on the screen, nuzzling his nose against Sanji’s neck. Sanji elbowed him in the gut and continued typing.

“This fucking sucks…” The blond muttered.

“This is basic stuff, dart brow. How did you even make it through college?” Zoro shifted his position so that his legs were now extended, the other man resting in the ‘V’ shape his legs naturally made, leaning back into the massive pillows on their bed.

Sanji leaned back with Zoro, adjusting the screen slightly before carrying on with his email, the sounds of Sanji’s harsh and furious taping filled the room. After what felt like forever, the blond slammed his computer shut and tossed it to the other side of the bed. He looked up at the moss head with a glare.

“That was bullshit.” He rolled onto his stomach, placing his head just at the end of Zoro’s rib cage.

“Yeah but you had to do it.” Sanji rolled his eyes before giving Zoro sly grin.

“Do I get a reward?” He brought a hand up and played with the gold earrings hanging from Zoro’s ear, the other he used to push himself up closer to Zoro’s face. Zoro returned the smirk, placing a hand on Sanji’s lower back and trailing it up the blond’s spine.

“Alright, curly, show me what else those fingers of yours can do.”

                                                       

           


	3. Don't Drop Me

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Anon: hey! ^^ there are so many fics were Zoro is carrying Sanji to bedroom, with Sanjis legs wrapped around his waist... Maybe, for the sake of equality, you could write one where it goes the other way around? C: 
> 
> Here you go!

“Hurry up shitty doorman!”

“Keep your voice down, I don’t want my boss to hear me!” Zoro hushed as he was ushered into the lavish elevator doors by an overly enthusiastic Sanji.

“Psh, he’s nowhere near and I don’t think he really cares. Plus, no one is up at this time of night, we’re fine.” Sanji promised, pushed the button to the top floor where his apartment was waiting. He pressed Zoro into the glass walls, letting his hands wander over the flustered man as he watched the elevator slowly rise away from the ground over the man’s shoulder. “Really, what took you so long to say something moss head? I was ready to give up hope.”

Sanji began to place a string of kisses along Zoro’s neck, using his other hand to grab Zoro’s still wrist and place it on his hip.

“What’s the matter, marimo? Shy?” Sanji teased, biting just above Zoro’s collar, looking up at Zoro’s blush stained face. “You’re so cute.”

“Am not!”

“So he speaks. Come on moss head, talk to me.” Sanji popped open the buttons on man’s uniform and slowly traced patterns around the man’s navel.

“A-and say what?” Zoro choked out.

“I don’t know… Stoke my ego, what do you like about me?” Sanji grinned, gently playing with Zoro’s earrings. He put up a hand against the glass and pushed harder against Zoro, firmly placing a leg between Zoro’s. The other man seemed to gain his composure, running his hand up and down Sanji’s back, using the other to pull Sanji into a slow kiss. He pulled away to rest his forehead against Sanji’s, wearing that confident smirk that set Sanji’s gut on fire.

“I like everything.” He planted a shallow kiss on Sanji’s lips. “I like those shitty glares you shoot me every time you walk through the main doors. I like how your fucking legs just go for days. I like the way your hips sway when you walk by, you think I don’t know you do that on purpose?” Sanji chuckled slightly, his now messy hair was disheveled enough for Zoro two see both of his fierce blue eyes that were locked with his.

The elevator came to a gentle stop, the doors lazily opening. Sanji grabbed onto Zoro’s hand and quickly led him forward to the end of the hall, searching for his keys in his pocket as they walked. When they reached the door, Zoro wrapped his hands around Sanji’s waist from behind as Sanji fumbled with the lock, making it Sanji’s turn to have his face burn from blush.

The moment the door clicked open, Sanji turned and practically threw Zoro through the door, shutting the door with his foot and shoving into Zoro to messily kiss him against the wall. Sanji smirked through the kiss and took both hands to grope Zoro’s butt.

“Hey!” Zoro yelped, putting his arms around Sanji’s neck playfully. Sanji pushed his hips against the other man’s, hoisting the other man up so that he wrapped his legs around Sanji’s waist, sinking into another lip-biting kiss.

“You better not drop me, curly brow.” Zoro grumbled, his deep voice vibrating into Sanji’s chest pleasantly as Sanji carried them in the direction of his bedroom.

“Oh no!” Sanji yelled sarcastically as he barely tossed Zoro into the air and caught him, laughing when Zoro awkwardly flailed and buried Sanji’s face into his chest.

“Not funny.”  Zoro pouted; resting his head on Sanji’s shoulder as Sanji kicked his door open. “You’re the opposite of romantic, love cook.”

Sanji just sniggered as he set Zoro down on his bed, climbing into the man’s lap.

“Just shut up and kiss me, marimo.”


	4. I only Kiss You When I'm Drunk

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Anon: How about a drabble, were Zoro and Sanji are sitting in the back seat of a cab, Sanji is really drunk and is trying to make out with Zoro ? x)
> 
> Yeahhh it went a little longer than a drabble but oh well.

 

The sounds of the club followed Zoro and Sanji out into the street, the tip of Zoro’s nose stung slightly and his fingers tingled from the chill in the air. Sanji was draped happily over Zoro, his arm lazily slung around the larger man’s neck, he stoked up and down Zoro’s arm while he was practically nuzzling into Zoro’s shoulder.

“Jeeze, you’re so touchy-feely when you’re drunk” Zoro scoffed, nudged the crookedly smiling man.

“M-not… Just with you.” Sanji slurred with a confused scowl that quickly turned back into a dopey smile.

“Uh-huh, that’s nice shit cook.” Zoro strained his neck out, still no sign of the cab he called. Sanji was staring at Zoro’s earrings like a bird in a mirror, reaching a wobbly hand out to try and play with the chiming jewelry.

“Hey can you keep a secret? But Zoro can’t know s’ you can’t tell ‘im, okay.” The words fell out of Sanji’s mouth like a toddler walking down the street, placing inflections in odd places and struggling with the pitch of his normally deep voice.

“Sure, moron.” Zoro said with a smirk. At first he had been completely opposed to being to the one to take the curly bastard home, but this was turning out to be awesome.

“I think-I think that Zoro, you know Zoro? Yeah, I think that that Zoro guy is the hottest piece of ass I’ve like, ever seen.” Zoro whipped his head around to look down at the other man. “I like him a looooooooooot. But I can never tell him! So shhhhhhhhhhhhhh.”

Sanji raised a finger up to Zoro’s lips, dragging his hand slowly down groggily.

“I think he hates me though s’ that kind of sucks a lot.” He babbled. “Oh look! Look, it’s a-it’s a cab!”

Sanji tripped over his own feet as he tried to stumble over to the cab, Zoro grabbing him in the nick of time to stop him from smashing his face against the yellow door. Zoro popped open the cab door and ushered a giggling Sanji inside, situating the man with his seat belt and then moving over to the other side of the car to climb in himself.

“Oh Zoro! Hey there b-buddy!” Sanji laughed out, swaying in his seat. “I-I was just talking about youuuuuuu.”

“So I heard.” Zoro mumbled, and then turned to the cab driver. “Sunny apartments on thousandth street.” When he went back to facing Sanji, he discovered the man had unbuckled himself and slid himself next to Zoro. He happily ran his hands along Zoro’s broad chest, smiling to himself while resting his cheek against Zoro’s arm.

“Did y’ know that I think that you’re really cuuuuute? But-but I’m not going to tell you that.” Zoro rolled his eyes; Sanji was going to have such a bad hang over in the morning. Sanji threw a leg across Zoro’s lap, using his arms to tightly hug the man. When Zoro turned his head to look down at the drunken mess clinging to him, Sanji leaned up to plant a slobbery kiss on the corner of his mouth.

“Oi stop that.” Zoro berated. Sanji didn’t get the message and instead managed to run his tongue up along Zoro’s neck, leaving a drooly-messy trail. “Oh gross, knock it off!”

The stupid grin stayed on Sanji’s alcohol induced dumb face, resting his head back down to look happily up at Zoro who continued to glare at him. Sanji took the hand that was hooked around Zoro’s neck to pull his head down into a kiss, drunkenly biting at Zoro’s lips and practically licking all over Zoro’s mouth.

“Hell no, there will be no drunken make-outs in this cab!” Zoro snapped, pulling Sanji’s hands down and putting them in his own lap, throwing his own arm up to wipe away the coating of saliva Sanji gave him. The blond looked put out but the goofy smile remained.

The drunk’s arms snaked their way back onto Zoro to hold him tight once again, releasing a content sigh and nestling his head just below Zoro’s collar bone.

“You are a serious pain in the ass, love cook.” Zoro grumbled. Soft snores soon sounded from the blond on top on him, his antics had finally come to a stop. Zoro gave a small laugh and ran a free hand through the sleeping cook’s hair.

“Really, if you weren't so cute I don’t know how I’d put up with you blondie.”

           


	5. The Candy Man

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Anon: Zosan/sanzo where Zoro is eating a lollipop 
> 
> Simple and sweet!

The store was warm and inviting, the sugar coated air just rested in your lungs and lifted youi up like you were on a cloud. Sanji was carefully drizzling caramel over the tops of the perfect chocolate bricks he had been crafting since this morning when he heard the light ring of the shop’s bell and the door opened to allow the cool outside air to rush in.. Sanji turned just in time to see five kids scatter throughout the room, laughing and pushing each other as they ran along the candy filled aisles.

“Oi Luffy you can’t eat that yet, I haven’t paid for it!” Yelled a man just now entering the store, rushing over to pull a massive jaw breaker out of the hands of a small kid beaming from under the brim of a straw hat that was clearly too large for him. The kid just giggled oddly and ran after his companions into another aisle.

The man turned to Sanji and shrugged apologetically, strolling over to the counter where Sanji was working. The man was gorgeous, even with oddly colored hair and strange ear piercings he looked like he belonged shirtless on the cover of vougue, his wide shoulders rolling with every step he took.

“Sorry about them…. I really don’t have any control over them.” The man said with a deep voice, sweeping his dark eyes over the store to spy on each of the rambunctious kids. Sanji gave a small chuckle, cutting the chocolate in front of him absentmindedly into exact squares.

“They’re not all yours, are they?” He asked curiously. The other man looked like he choked on air.

“Oh god no, none of them are mine.” The other man sputtered in horror. “I’m babysitting for my neighbor, and then they brought friends with them too.”

“Sounds rough.” Sanji joked.

“You have no idea.” He huffed, leaning against the counter casually. “Ah shit, sorry, I’ll be right back. NAMI I SAW THAT PUT IT BACK.” He jogged over to where one of the kids was currently trying to fill her pockets with little tangerine hard candies. When he picked her up the other kids saw and gathered around at his ankles begging to be picked up too: the poor man looked absolutely lost.

Sanji smiled and grabbed the small wicker basket full of candies hidden under the display case, pushing the little wooden gate to walk out from behind the counter and towards the mini hoard of kids. He knelt down onto one knee and held out the basket.

“Do you guys want some free candies?” Sanji asked happily. The kids pounced on him in an instant, grabbing and shoving their way over.

“Come on guys, don’t push.” The babysitter said weakly. “Luffy that’s too many put some back.”

Sanji stood, holding the basket just out of reach from the little straw hat boy who was still trying to nab a few more sweets.

“You guys can each go pick one thing out, okay? And what do you say to the nice candy-store guy?” The other man instructed. Sanji was given a few gleeful ‘thank you’s as the kids dispersed throughout the store again.

“My name’s Sanji, but I guess nice candy store guy works too.”

“I’m Zoro. And Thanks for that.” Zoro gave with a soft smile, extending a hand which Sanji took maybe a little enthusiastically.

“It’s not a problem really; I deal with kids a lot, as you can imagine.” He watched as the kids inspected every shelf the shop had to offer, bickering among themselves and having more than a few close calls to knocking things over. Sanji looked down at the basket in his arms and then at Zoro before holding it out to the other man. “Want one?”

“Thanks.” Zoro said, quickly snagging a bright red lollipop. Sanji returned to his spot behind the counter, carefully tucking the basket away for another occasion, and went back to cutting up the chocolate. Every once in a while he would spare a glance to the babysitter, who was now meandering behind the rowdy kids. Sanji almost regretted giving Zoro the candy; it was getting painful to watch.

His throat grew dry, trying to avert his gaze to anywhere but the damn lollipop in the other man’s mouth. The way he rolled it side to side, gently sucking on it absentmindedly… His eyes glided over and saw Sanji staring and gave a small smirk. Sanji’s face heated up from embarrassment and whipped his head to look back down at his work, which was currently placing the chocolates neatly on a platter and adding garnishes here or there.  

Eventually, each kid one by one walked up to Sanji at the register to place their own little treasure on the counter. Zoro was like the caboose of train, counting each kid’s head in front of him to make sure he had them all before handing the money for all those goodies. The moment the cash made it to Sanji’s the kid’s already had their candies in their mouths, it was obvious none of them had a patient bone in their little bodies.

“Hey, can I borrow that?” Zoro asked, pointing to the colorful pen at the side of the register. Sanji passed the pen over, the other man quickly scribbled something on the tiny receipt before tearing it off and handing the scrap of paper and the pen back to Sanji.

“Call me some time.” He gave a wink and then he was out the door trailing behind the noisy kids. Sanji watched them from the large windows all the way down the street before looking down at the small paper in his hands.

            _Thanks for the candy~_ Was written just below a phone number.

“Cheeky bastard.” Sanji mumbled, happily tucking the scrap of paper into his apron.

 


	6. I'll Bleed You Dry

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Anon: heeeey! I have no idea what kinda music you prefer to listen, but would you consider making a zoroxsanji/sanjixzoro fic were you use something from the song Blood by In This Moment? It doesn’t have to be really angsty, but maybe something bit more darker and aggressive than you usually write.
> 
> Yeahhhh I don't normally listen to this kind of music but hey try something new every day! So I listened to the song and this is what unraveled in my head.

 Broken glass littered the floor, wine dripping from the splattered mess on the wall like a bloody crime scene. With a crash another plate smashed against the wall, the clatter lacerating the silence and ringing in the air.

Sanji kicked the run-down sofa in the middle of his tiny apartment, the wooden frame snapping and tumbled over. Sanji stumbled back into the kitchen, falling to the ground in a tired mess, hiding his head in arms and curling around himself. Tears trailed over new fresh bruises on his right cheek bone and jaw, his lower ribs aching with each sobbing intake of air. He felt like hurling but his stomach was empty.

“I fucking hate you, you shitty bastard.” He cried to himself in his empty apartment. He could still taste blood in his mouth, running his tongue over his teeth to make sure they were all still there. He was cold, like the blood in his body was slow and had turned to mud; like his river had been run dry and all that was left were the muddy banks.

With shaking hands he pulled out a cigarette and lit it in his trembling mouth, trying to get his shot nerves to calm down. When had his life come to this?

Even with double bolt locks on his door, Sanji hadn’t really felt safe living in this shady part of town, but it was all he could afford and he couldn’t move. He fucking hated this place. He supposed it’d made sense he’d eventually run into a guy like DonQuixote in this kind of town.

When he and Sanji had started dating, it was great: the man had money, power, and for once in a long time Sanji felt safe. But then things… Changed.

He didn’t have much to him anymore: never in his life had he thought he’d be caught in a pimp’s trap. He’d been violated. Dominated. And he didn’t see a way out… Until that bastard undercover cop showed up.

_“You don’t have to keep fucking saving me!” Sanji screamed at the bloody cop he’d dragged out of the fray and back to his home. “I’m not worth it you shitty bastard! Stop choosing me.”_

He’d screamed that after the second time Don had caught Zoro in his territory, trying to convince Sanji to come back with him. The bastard was fucking crazy.

The first time he’d met Sanji, he was undercover and was planning on arresting Sanji. But Sanji had… Fallen apart would be an understatement. So Zoro awkwardly comforted him in that dingy shitty motel, letting him dampen his uniform’s sleeve his Sanji’s tears. He gave Sanji a wad of cash and left, promising Sanji that if he caught him prostituting himself again Zoro’d send him in.

Time passed, he’d see Zoro every so often on the street at night, the bastard would chew his ear off, saying how if Sanji didn’t clean up his act Zoro would arrest him. But the shitty moss head never did.

Sanji picked up a shard of glass at his foot, examining the moonlight in it that filled the small room. He remembered the first time he and Zoro hooked up.

He didn’t really remember how it happened, it just did. Zoro wasn’t like Sanji’s forced fucks, he was… Perfect. The fucker just had to be perfect, had to say all of those kind words, had to pull him back from that edge he had been so close to jumping off.

Then Don found out.

Which led to Zoro’s current residence in the hospital. And it was all Sanji’s fault.

Sanji didn’t know if the other man had made it through the night, with no way to contact him; he wouldn’t be able to face Zoro in a hospital visit, even if he could even make it to that side of town without Don stopping him.

Sanji’s first furled around the shard in his hand, it crumbled into jagged little pieces with a sharp ‘snap’ and burrowed into his palm. He stared at his hand like it wasn’t his own; the ripe blood dripping down his arm seemed so foreign.

He hated Zoro for every time he bled for him. He hated him so much.

But even worse than the hate, Sanji loved him, and he hated him even more for that.


	7. A Misstep in the Right Direction

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Law-lee-et: So prompts? Maybe Sanji can’t sleep, or he almost falls down the stairs and Zoro gets scared because of Kuina. Or one or both gets hurt. Or they have their first date. Or their reunion after 2 years… (sry im dumb)
> 
> You are not dumb you are super cute babe no worries. So many ideas this is wonderful! I chose the fall down the stairs prompt, I feel like it’s been done before but I really like it because it has so much potential and bonding opportunities and man angst it’s great. Thanks for the prompts!

The crow’s nest was silent; a faint warm breeze flew in from the open windows to run through Zoro’s hair, moonlight and stars reflected against the perfect shine of Wado’s blade in his hands. Zoro could hear the faint sounds of footsteps below, slowly making their way up towards him, but Zoro kept his eyes trained on the sword and blocked out the noise.

The smell of smoke entered the room, Zoro already knew who it was and ignored him. A hand tugged harshly at his shirt, the cook’s voice sounding next to him, but he couldn’t speak; he couldn’t pull his gaze away from the blade.

“Look at me when I’m taking to you, bastard!” Sanji demanded, but Zoro couldn’t bring himself to raise his head. The other man sighed and sat down next to Zoro, leaning back against the wall and blowing a cloud of smoke into the air.

“I’m fine, shitty marimo.” He murmured. The scene played once again in Zoro’s mind, that stupid fucking fight. He couldn’t remember who started it, what it was about, but he remembered the outcome. All it had taken was a little push, not paying attention to where they were fighting, one slight misstep, and the cook had been sent tumbling down the stairs.

Zoro could still feel the panic, the moment his heart dropped in his chest and forgot how to beat. The blond had just lain there, crumpled and unmoving on the ground. Zoro couldn’t see him breathing. It happened again, and just like the first time it was Zoro’s fault.

“I said I’m fine.” The other man repeated, louder this time, nudging Zoro with his foot.

“I could have killed you.” Zoro managed to pull from his lungs, each word making his chest ache.

“But you didn’t. Come on moron, it’ll take a lot more than a push down the stairs to kill me.”

“I could have killed you.” He repeated. Kuina’s small, limp body returned to his mind, he could still hear the faint rain in the background from that day. He nearly lost Sanji today, in that same way, falling down the fucking stairs.

Zoro gently placed the katana in front of him, the pit in his stomach growing. He hadn’t realized he was shaking until he felt a hand rest on his shoulder. Zoro grabbed the hand and turned his whole body; he threw his arms around the startled blond and pulled him close, the heart beat against his ear was faintly reassuring.

“What the hell marimo?” Sanji snapped, but there was no bite to his words, slowly wrapping unsure arms around the man sprawled against his chest.

“I’m sorry. I’m so fucking sorry.” He whispered, squeezing the other man tighter.

“Zoro, I’m okay, I-”

“You could have been very NOT okay, Sanji! I could have killed you! It would be exactly like when I lost her!” He shouted. He could feel the blond freeze, holding his breath. “I could have lost you…”

“Didn’t realize I was so important to you, moss head.” Sanji mused quietly.

“Of course you’re important to me, don’t even pretend!”

“You’re important to me too, okay?” Sanji muttered, pulling Zoro up to look him in the eyes. “And if you say you’re sorry again, I’m gonna kick your fucking ass. It was an accident. I’m fine.”

Zoro released a shaky breath before giving a quick nod.

“Good. Now go to bed marimo, you’ve been worrying the captain.” Sanji pushed Zoro up and off of him. Zoro stooped down to grab his favorite sword, sliding her back into her sheath, and walked towards the door.  Before he left, he looked back to see Sanji give him an uncertain small smile.

“So, Zoro… We good?”

"Yeah, we’re good.”

           

           

 


	8. The Closet Cuddlers

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Anon: Hey! Could you write a fic where Zoro and Sanji have a cute 'hug buddy' relationship where they meet at night because they are both super cuddly? :D
> 
> They're both such dorks is what they are. I love these whole hug buddy relationships/scenarios, its fun to write this kind of cute stuff.

Sanji had never intended this… To become a _thing_. Whatever it was _this_ was. He wasn’t really sure what it was or where it was going to lead him, but he did know that he didn’t want it to end.

It had started out as an accident, a complete coincidence and happenstance.

A thin layer of dusty snow had coated the ship, the cold crawling through wooden cracks and into the boy’s room. Beds had been forgotten and instead a massive nest of pillows and blankets took up the middle of the room with a mess of snoring bodies on top of it.

Sanji had woken up just along the outside the giant cuddle puddle, his tee shirt hiked up and his pale stomach exposed, a small dribble of drool threatening to stream down his chin. He was pleasantly surprised by the warmth that radiated against his side and snuggled closer to the source, he was too tired and too cold to mind the arm that reached over to wrap around him.

But soon his morning hazy senses faded away and he realized he was tangled up with none other than Zoro. Part of him wanted to flail his way to freedom and escape, and the other part just wanted to stay there and bask in the warmth that is the moronic green haired wonder. His brain must have been short circuited because being there wrapped up in the other man was… actually kind of nice. So he stayed.

 Separating in the morning had been weird. Like, really fucking weird. Neither said a word, avoiding eye contact, pulling apart with hands slowly lingering. It wasn’t something Sanji really wanted to repeat.

The rest of the day had been difficult. While preparing a lovely breakfast for everyone he could still feel the warmth of Zoro. In the back of his mind he couldn’t help but think that crawling into the bastard’s hammock tonight and holding him tight was enticing… But for fucks sake this was Zoro he was thinking about.

The second incident happened three days later.

Sanji may or may not have had one wine glass too many, or at least that’s what he blamed his actions on. The grassy deck of the sunny was softly illuminated by small paper lanterns, the sounds of drunken giggling crew mates littered the air as they danced across the deck along with brooks happy and slow music.

Sanji was sitting underneath the tree that the single swing hung from, swaying lightly to the gentle violin, enjoying the silent company of Zoro who sat next to him sipping his own drink in peace.

Somehow the drunken mechanics of his mind remembered the night they spent so close to each other, and he could still remember the burning need to be near like that, it was an itch he just couldn’t scratch alone. Zoro was so close already, those dark eyes were lazily watching his crewmates on the grass before them, paying no attention to Sanji oh so secretly scooting just a little closer. When Sanji just barely brushed the other man’s shoulder the other man’s sharp eyes focused down at Sanji in surprise, but he didn’t say a word. His silence continued when Sanji gently rested his head on Zoro’s shoulder.

Then it was Sanji’s turn to be surprised when he felt the man shift and bring his arm around Sanji to pull him closer, Sanji’s head naturally moving in the crook of the other man’s neck, his hair tickling the edge of Zoro’s jaw.

After that, little cuddling ‘incidents’ continued until it led up to… This. Sanji supposed they were some kind of ‘cuddle buddies’, as weird as it sounded. But Sanji liked it.

They weren’t in a relationship. But they were strange cuddle buddies that met up in the middle of the night in the crow’s nest to spoon because for some unknown reason and unseen force that pulled them together like magnets.

Maybe it was the sense of belonging that drew him to it… That feeling that rushed over him in a wave whenever he was near Zoro like that. It was like he had found his place, somewhere outside of his kitchen, where everything felt perfect. When he found All Blue, would he feel like this?

But until he found that legendary ocean, he could settle for this. Whatever this was, now tangled up in Zoro in the crow’s nest, his arm wrapped around the swordsman whose back was snug against his stomach. He loved the way their bodies fit so perfectly together, protectively pulling the other man closer.

Yeah, he could settle for this.

 

 

 


	9. Ticklish

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Anon: since you are good with cute fluff... please, write some ticklish Zoro.
> 
> You are right anon I sure do write a lot of fluff…

The crow’s nest was quiet, excluding the soft pants and moans that littered the air, it was a still and peaceful night. Bathed in shallow moonlight that fluttered in through the window, Sanji gracefully helped Zoro slowly lift his shirt above his head, then leaned down to place kisses along exposed neck, his lips just grazing the other man’s collar bone

The blond happily scooted himself closer to Zoro in the man’s lap so that their chests were nearly flushed against one another. As Sanji kissed along a sharp jawline he couldn’t help voice his appreciation as the larger man began to let his hands wander along Sanji’s back.

When Sanji’s lips finally reunited with Zoro’s, he brought his arms up and wrapped them around broad shoulders so that his hands could make their way into short cropped hair. He pulled at the strands oh so slightly in a way that he knew Zoro would like.

While his tongue fought for dominance over his own mouth, Sanji brought one of his hands slowly down, trailing along the jagged scar that cut through the swordsman’s torso. When his hand reached the end of the scar and met the angular hip, he began to drag his hand up to trace over the fine contours of Zoro’s side.

Halfway up the torso Sanji’s hands froze when Zoro made the strangest garbled noise into Sanji’s mouth. Sanji pulled away immediately, his tousled hair falling into his face.

“What the hell was that?” Sanji demanded. Zoro’s face was a picture of confusion and embarrassment, the tips of his ears red and Sanji knew it wasn’t from arousal.

“I-I don’t kno- AUGHuaha!” The uncouth sound fell from Zoro’s mouth again as Sanji repeated the action, his fingers just ghosting over the exposed skin again. A wicked grin spread across his face in understanding.

Sanji adjusted his knees on either side of the swordsman, adding a little pressure to efficiently hold him in place.  Sanji rolled his shoulders like a predatory cat as he lowered his head to become level with those narrow dark eyes, raising both hands into a position just below the spot Sanji had been experimenting with.

“I do believe a certain moss head is ticklish.”

Zoro scowled. “I am not ticklish, shit co-OO HA! Ha ha ha ha!” He barked out, Sanji shamelessly attacking Zoro’s sides over and over.

“CUT IT OUT! HA! Ha ha!” Zoro seemed to forget how to use his arms, weakly trying to bat away the cook. “HA HA come on, knock it ha ha! Knock it off! HA HA HA!”

Sanji couldn’t help laugh along, the moss head just looked too cute like this!

“Oh my god I’m gonna piss my fucking pants HA HA! Stop it! Ha HA! Please?! Ha ha ha!”

In his hysteria Zoro finally remembered that Sanji was sitting on top of him and with a strong shove he pushed the gleeful blond onto his ass.

“Oi! Watch it, marimo!” He laughed. Zoro was breathing heavily and clutching his now aching sides.

“So not funny, swirly bastard!”

“Who knew that the big bad demon pirate hunter WAS TICKLISH?!” Sanji howled in delight.

Sanji knew he had affectively killed the mood but it was so worth it.

 

 

 


	10. Chatting Up the Appliances

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Vampiregarlic: Hey Grace-Senpai! Could you write a fic where Sanji has a habit of talking to his kitchen equipment when he is (or thinks he is) alone?

The kitchen was warm and housed the inviting smell of dinner being prepared, something mild and savory. A muffled ‘BANG!’ followed by the sounds of his crewmate’s laughter drifted in through the door, making Sanji laugh to himself.

“Shitty morons.” He mused happily, swaying his hips to unheard music. After thoroughly washing a mound of vibrant vegetables Sanji lowered the flame under the boiling pot beside him to a simmer.

He absentmindedly reached out a long arm and searched blindly for one of his kitchen knives while setting up a pepper on his cutting board. After pawing around fruitlessly he finally turned his head and snatched up the knife.

“Tch, I thought I said quit wandering off…” He mumbled to himself, slicing the blade through the ripe flesh of the vegetable under his fingers.

“Stop that.” He muttered, unsatisfied with how the blade cut through. He angled the blade and brought it down again, the pepper crunching softly.

“I said stop that.” He tested the blade two more times, but the cut just wasn’t right.

“Well that’s not okay. I thought I sharpened you yesterday.” He said unhappily, holding the blade up to the light to inspect it, clicking his tongue. He didn’t hear the stop footsteps entering the room.

“I’ll just put you to the side and use…. You.” Quickly selecting a new knife, Sanji went back to work at the cutting board. “Yeah, much better.”

Sanji heard a low chuckle from behind him and suddenly hands were on his hips, a pair of lips at the nape of his neck.

“You’re so cute cook.” Zoro said into Sanji’s ear.

Sanji elbowed the swordsman in the gut, but the other man didn’t release his hold on Sanji.

“Shut the fuck up Marimo.” He grumbled, trying and failing to hide the blush on his cheeks. A hand wrapped around his belly, pulling Sanji closer into the cavernous chest behind him.

“How come you don’t talk to me as nicely as you talk to your kitchen knives?” Zoro joked in a gruff small voice, placing a feathery kiss on the junction between Sanji’s neck and shoulder.

“I said shut up shitty moss head.” Half-heartedly batting Zoro away. “I didn’t know you were there.”

“Yeah, I know.” Zoro laughed lightly. Sanji stomped on the moss head’s toes. “You’re still adorable.”

“Alright, time for you to go!” Sanji turned and pushed the swordsman away, ushering the gleefully laughing man out the door. He returned to his work station with a huff, picking up a wooden spoon to stir the stew on the stove, looking down at the utensil with a disbelieving look.

“Can you believe I actually like that guy?”


	11. Injured Idiot

Only half listening to the long tale Usopp was spinning next to him at the table, Zoro watched the cook, who was happily placing another basket of warm bread rolls on the table. As the man pivoted, his slender hips swaying so lightly, there it was again.

That little hiccup in his movements, a slight hitch in his step, barely noticeable.

Zoro’s hand found his temple, working his fingers to try to relieve the pressure building there, his other hand fending off his plate mercilessly from his captain’s wandering fingers. That idiot love cook was doing it again.

He waited patiently, the chaos and noise of dinner eventually fading as crew members left the room one by one. Outside, the sun had just finished fading, a dark purple dusk sky enveloped the evening.

Wordlessly he stood, finding a place next to Sanji at the kitchen sink. After dropping his dish into the bubble filled water, he bumped Sanji harshly with his hip to scoot the other man away.

“Oi, what the fuck marimo!” Sanji growled, a sudsy plate still in his wet hands, raising his left leg menacingly. Zoro tensed but didn’t move, hoping he didn’t walk away from this with a large bruise on his shin.

“Knock it off cook.” He grumbled, putting his hands in the warm water and searching for a dish to clean.

“What… Are you doing exactly?” Sanji asked carefully, the dangerous edge still there, leg ready to snap out.

“Go sit over there and be quiet. I’ll do the dishes tonight.”

“What?” Sanji finally put his leg down, much to Zoro’s relief.

“Just go sit down.”

Sanji hesitated, his uncertainty drawn on his face comically, like he was afraid to turn his back and walk away after the strange kindness being offered. After giving a last glare, the blond shuffled over to the table, leaning back in a chair and pulling out a cigarette.

Zoro smirked to himself over the little victory and went to work on the dishes. After a small wet pile of four dishes had accumulated, Sanji finally spoke up.

“Why exactly are you helping me?” It sounded more like an accusation than a question. Out of the corner of his eye Zoro could see Sanji watching him, that visible blue eye narrowed in suspicion.

“What, is it so weird that I simply wanted to help you out from the goodness in my heart?”

“Yes.” Sanji replied without missing a beat.

“Your back’s been bothering you today.”

“So what if it has?” Sanji’s response slower this time, cautious like he was afraid he was walking into a trap.

Zoro pretended he couldn’t hear the irritated man, continuing to wash the dishes silently.

“Hey don’t you ignore me shit head. You think I can’t take care of myself? Fuck off.” Sanji snapped, taking an angry inhale of smoke before standing.

“Did I say that?” Zoro asked calmly, not looking at the blond.

“What?”

“Fuck cook do you always have to be so difficult?” That shut the other man up, silently fuming and unsure how to continue. After placing the last clean dish on the counter, Zoro hastily dried his hands on his pants and approached the wary blond.

“So, are you going to see Chopper about it?”

The cook’s attention was suddenly piqued by something on the wooden floor, hands in pockets, offering a shrug.

“It’s not really that bad, no need to get the kid worked up.”

Zoro straddled the empty chair next to the man, looking at him expectantly.

“It’s from that old injury back at Drum Island, right? Like, your lower back?”

“Uh…. Yeah?”

Zoro made an open gesture expectantly, showing the palms of his hands. He sighed deeply when the blond didn’t move.

“Just… Come here…” He bit out awkwardly. All he got was a blank stare in return. “I’ll try and… Fix your back or whatever… Since you’re too stupid to go see Chopper!”

“I am not!”

“Oh well then I’ll just go get him!”

“Oi don’t do that!”

“Then come here!” Zoro shouted crossly, caught in an angry stare down with the cook. Sanji took a quick drag from his cigarette, seeming to mull something over in his head, then his shoulders drooped and he indignantly dragged himself closer.

Reluctantly, Zoro placed his hands on the small of Sanji’s back, using his thumb to gently find the man’s spine before softly rubbing the digits along the side.

“Do you even know what you’re doing?” Sanji huffed, a small trail of smoke leaving his mouth.

“More or less. Take off your jacket.” He ordered, slightly surprised when Sanji complied without much complaint. Once again, his hands returned to the blond’s back. As his fingers messaged and dug into muscle, trying to find the source of the problem, the cook spoke up.

“Why are you doing this?” He said softly.

“Well you needed it to be taken care of one way or another.”

“Yeah… But why you?” Zoro’s hands stilled, but then went back to his ministrations.

“I don’t know cook, you talk too much.” He huffed. His thumb prodded a spot on Sanji’s lower back and the cook made a muffled cry. “Found it. I think you popped a disk or something… This is pretty bad cook, you should have gone to Chopper.”

“Would you quit it with Chopper already? I said I didn’t want to. Besides I feel fine.”

“For fucks sake love cook would you quit it? This obviously hurts so drop it. Now stand up.”

“Why do you care so much?”

“I just do.”

Sanji stood with an impatient look on his face. “Yeah, well this is weird.”

Zoro shrugged nonchalantly. He knew it was weird, he didn’t really have a reason to be helping the other man. Zoro just felt like it was something he needed to do.

He reached out, grabbing Sanji by the arm to pull him in closer. The smaller man bristled and pushed away immediately.

“Hey hey hey what do you think you’re doing bastard?!” Sanji panicked. Zoro rolled his eyes.

“Knock it off, I’m gonna try and pop your back if you’d just hold still.”

Hesitantly the cook calmed down, slowly lowering his defenses. Zoro drew him in closer, putting them chest to chest while he wrapped his arms around the lithe figure.The blond was completely tensed, Zoro could feel the man’s racing heart beat against his own.

“Uh, exhale…”

Sanji let out a nervous breath and Zoro constricted his arms, squeezing their two bodies together. Sanji’s back popped loudly, leading the cook to moan breathily in Zoro’s ear.

“Ah! Holy fucking shit!”

Zoro did not like the immediate flush that covered his face, the way that noise bounced around in his gut.

Zoro gently set the man down, releasing him anxiously.

“Better?” He asked slowly. The blond gave a curt nod, clearing his throat uneasily.

“Yeah… Uh, thanks.” His long fingers played with his almost spent cigarette. “I guess I owe you.”

All Zoro could do was nod quickly before turning to leave. This was beyond weird. It was super weird.

Why had he even helped in the first place? Why did he care?

Part of him didn’t want to know the answer from the way with stomach did this awful fluttery thing when he kept replaying the ‘thanks’ in his head. Yeah, this was bad.


	12. Enter the Drift

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> That's right. A Pacific Rim AU.

Siren's whined and screamed just above Sanji's metal bunk, bright neon red lights illuminated the cabin.

"Rise and shine, brat. All Blue's been assigned a mission."

Sanji grumbled but none the less climbed out of bed, waking up had never been very difficult for him due to his previous work as a chef, but it wasn't exactly something he looked forward to. He clasped his hands together and stretched them above his head, several vertebrae in his back popped loudly, then he turned his head slowly to the side to earn a few satisfying pops in his neck.

After he pulled his pants on, he grabbed each arm by the elbow and pulled inwardly to pop his shoulders, rolling his back happily as his stiff limbs began to relax.

"That's disgusting." His drift partner, his adoptive father Zeff, said in disgust. "Hurry up eggplant, you're taking too long."

Sanji threw on a large puffy coat and pulled at the heavy cabin door to hop out into the hallway, heading down ahead of his partner to get suited up.

When he opened the door to the equipment room, he stopped in his tracks when he saw that none other than Roronoa Zoro stood in the room, grabbing a piece of his perfect white armor and slapping it onto his forearm.

"Oh, hey dart brow."

"What are you doing here?" Sanji asked cautiously, opening his own compartment that revealed his deep blue armor proudly waiting for him. Zoro's sharp brow lowered in confusion.

"Haven't you been briefed yet? You're on a mission with me."

Sanji's heart stopped. He blinked twice, frozen in place.

"Come again?"

"Two Kaijus in the same place needs two Jaegers to fight them. You guys are supporting me and Kuina." Zoro informed him.

"Oh, okay." Sanji managed, refraining from fist pumping the air and struggling to keep the smile that threatened to stretch across his face down.

"You feeling okay?" Zoro asked, a slight look of concern appearing on his stoic face.

"I'm fine, bastard. You don't need to worry about me." Sanji snapped quickly, trying to calm his fluttering heart. Zoro frowned in annoyance and went back to strapping on his suit, Sanji did the same.

"I wasn't worried about you, I'm worried about how your Jaeger will do on the battlefield." Sanji just rolled his eyes at the sarcastic remark. Fully suited they both stood, just as the intercom called for Jaeger pilots to report to their positions in five minutes.

Zeff strolled into the room just as Sanji and Zoro left it together, shooting Sanji a curious look.

"Bet you I kill more Kaijus than you, Curly." Zoro teased as they made their way through metallic gates. Sanji pushed him in response, the other man's pure white suit reflecting the red flashing lights from above head onto Sanji's face.

"That's almost impossible, moss head. There's two of them and two of us." He snapped, throwing his helmet onto his head and separating from the man at the fork in the hallway.

"We'll just have to see, won't we Dart brow?" Zoro called after him. Sanji just waved him off over his shoulder, entering the port to his Jaeger. He'd show that moronic plant-for-brains bastard, just because he was newer to the game didn't mean he couldn't play: he knew he could earn Zoro's respect.

Sanji entered the empty cockpit, the whirs and beeps of the engines starting up buzzed in air. He lovingly ran a hand down a metal beam of the All Blue, keeping his hand there for a minute and soaking in the vibrations he got that proved his dream was alive. He looked over at the relaying screen at the front of the room, images of his Jaeger and Zoro's covered the screen: this was his first mission with the other man, and he wouldn't disappoint.

He heard his drift partner shuffle in, the doors slamming shut behind him.

"Ready to rumble, old man?" He joked as he pulled down the attachment gear from above, flipping various keys and panels on.

"Who you calling old man, eggplant?" Zeff grumble, reaching his leg over to shove Sanji. Zeff may not have been as young as Sanji, and they weren't technically related, but they had great drift compatibility. They both had that same incredible temper that was matched with undying passion.

"This is a big one, category 4. Our job is to take out the category 1 that had been sent out of the breach just a little bit before the second." Sanji informed him.

"Big, small, it doesn't matter, we're still going to kill it." Zeff grunted

"That's the spirit."

They pulled into the drift, memories Sanji had seen so many times passed before his face.

A young Zeff biting off more than he could chew in a street fight. Getting the ever loving snot kicked out of him and then being left there on the curb.

Then, Zeff got older, tougher, a regular street rat. Sanji saw him paroling down the street with his gang members, a gang that Zeff would one day be the head of. Though he was older Zeff still walked around like he did as a teenager, chest puffed out with pride and confidence, daring anyone to cross him.

The first Kaiju attack Zeff had ever saw, seen through the static of a faded old TV in horror. Jaeger's hadn't been around to save anyone back then.

Then, the attack of the Kaiju that had brought Sanji and Zeff together: trapped in a Kaiju shelter, the walls had caved in and only he and a sniveling pitiful little kid had survived. He saw himself and Zeff sit in that dark, hopeless tomb; every time he saw this memory it made his stomach ache and his throat dry to remember that hunger, that desperation.

The memories jumped, showing him growing up in a sad little town with Zeff, learning how to cook, and opening their restaurant.

They came back to the real world faster than before, the time it takes to fall into the drift becoming shorter and shorter for them as each mission brought them to a higher compatibility level.

"Alright boys, we're deploying. Good luck out there." Sounded over the intercom. They prepared themselves for impact and Sanji kept his eyes on the city in the distance.

* * *

"All Blue are you responding? Hunter is down! I repeat, Pirate Hunter is down! Their Jaeger shut down and we can't confirm survivors." Blasted into Sanji's intercom, adding to the whirlwind mesh of angry blaring noises all around him. He looked over at his partner, who hung limply in his suit, his leg no doubt broken.

"I read you control. Zeff is unconscious, I can't bring him to and the drift is breaking. I'm going to check on Hunter." Sanji strangled out, his vision bleeding in and out fuzzily, shakily guiding his Jaeger forward.

"All Blue you get your ass out of there! You can't pilot that thing by yourself! Sanji?! Sanji you moron get out of there!" Sanji blearily ignored the message and shuffled the Jaeger on.

His heart like it had been ripped out of his chest: he found Pirate Hunter crumpled sadly against a building, an arm missing and its head missing chunks like a smashed watermelon. The Kaiju they had been fighting had left, followed by a destructive trail of smashed cars and flames, moving on to wreak havoc on the city.

Sanji shifted All Blue into a crouch and then pulled himself out of the drift. He carefully unhooked Zeff, pulling him into a secure fireman's hold and carried him out through the top of their Jaeger. With shaking hands he managed to grip each battered rung down the emergency hatch of the metal hull, having to make a slight jump to get passed a few completely smashed steps. The acrid smell of burning asphalt and rubber sank into the back of Sanji's throat with each difficult breath, his lungs crying out to him.

When his tired body finally hit the broken ash slick ground, he fell to his knees, slumping Zeff off his throbbing shoulders. He could feel something hot and sticky trail down his cheek from his eye, but he didn't remember crying, and then realized he'd ruptured a blood vessel in the eye. The distant roars of the Kaiju echoed through the buildings of the city, a reminder that they were still in danger,

He dragged Zeff over sloppily but carefully to the foot of Pirate Hunter, gently placing him there to rest. He looked up at the smashed visor of Pirate Hunter weakly and sighed before getting a running start and leaping onto the wreckage. He pulled himself up gracelessly over the scorched and torn metal body, nearly falling off the rickety ruins before reaching the Pilot's chamber.

"Zoro?! Kuina?! You guys okay? Hello?" He called out into the dark room. A few steps in, he found the huddled shapes of the two pilots. Zoro had Kuina in his lap, her body bent in a sickening way, Zoro's head in defeat.

"Oh shit…" He hustled over to the pilots, kneeling slowly when he reached them. It was then he realized that the unmoving Zoro was actually breathing, wrecked and shallow breaths but breathing.

"Zoro…" He whispered, pulling his navy blue helmet off and placing it to the side.

"She's gone…" Zoro choked, barely audibly, he shook when he spoke. "Yubashiri broke, we didn't see it coming. She hit her head in the impact… She was just pulled out of the drift and she was gone."

Sanji knelt down in front of Zoro, keeping his head bowed. With shaking hands Zoro slowly pulled off Kuina's battered helmet, her dark short hair flowed into his lap while some random strands fell into her pale face. Zoro's face was twisted in agony, the more he looked at her still face the more desperate he appeared, he looked like his chest was about to concave as each ragged breath managed to escape his lips.

Sanji was paralyzed before the two Jaeger pilots: Kuina was dead. Sanji's hero was dead.

"Zoro."

The other pilot didn't move.

"Zoro Roronoa, we have to go." Sanji urged, refraining from touching the other man who clearly needed space to mourn, but this wasn't the place. "Zoro."

Zoro merely nodded, scooping his sister into his arms and following Sanji to the mangled escape hatch. Carefully and slowly, the two silently made their way down. As soon as their feet touched the ground Zoro pulled his Kuina into his arms and his body folded to the cement, no tears or words, his agonized face shadowed.

Sanji turned away, his head lowered with his helmet hanging in his arms. His throat felt like it was going to swell shut, his chest burned. They had all failed tremendously, and this is how they paid for it.

There was a heavy quake in the ground below them, rattling the broken asphalt and strewn pieces of building debris lying in the street. Then it stopped and everything stood still. The shaking retuned. And it stopped. Sanji's eyes grew wide in comprehension and he whipped back to where Zoro sat in mourning.

"Zoro!" He screamed in a scraggly voice. The other man only glanced up, his narrow eyes red and angry. "We've got to get the fuck out of here that shitty fucker is turning back!"

Panic lit up Zoro's face, turning his head to look distantly down the ruined street, in the distance the shadow of the massive monster was growing, its neon yellow eyes glowing through the rubble and dust; no wonder it had been nicknamed 'hawk eyes'. He looked back at Sanji and Sanji knew they were both thinking the same thing: there was no time to get away with both Zeff and Kuina to carry.

Sanji watched Zoro take a deep breath and give a final sad squeeze to Kuina's body. Zoro delicately placed her cold body next to Zeff's unconscious one, and then he ran over and grabbed Sanji's suited bicep, pulling him away from their drift partners. Sanji dug his heels in and stopped them both, struggling to release himself.

"I'm not leaving them behind you bastard." He screeched, tears starting to well in his eyes, mixing with the blood that stung and leaked from the right. Zoro returned a fierce look and Sanji swore that those dark eyes were on fire.

"I'm not leaving them." His voice was raw and rough. "I don't know about you, but I want revenge."

With that, Zoro went back to running, in the direction of the All Blue. Sanji spared a glance to the two bodies laying at the foot of Pirate Hunter, then at the approaching Kaiju, before breaking into a sprint to catch up to Zoro.

"This is fucking crazy." He mumbled to himself as he followed Zoro up the steep ladder to the cockpit. When they reached the top, Sanji twisted his head to the side to spit out blood that was collecting in his mouth, wiping the blood that started gushing from his nose with a cold metal sleeve. Zoro was already hooking himself in, his eyes locked forward on the Kaiju through the visor screen. Sanji did as Zoro did, fastening himself into place, pulling his helmet on top of his sweat drenched head.

Zoro rose a hand up, ready to pull the switch to force them into the drift together, shooting Sanji a look of concern.

"Well this is going to fucking suck." Sanji groaned, Zoro shrugged in response. "It was nice knowing you, shitty marimo."

"Same to you, swirly brow." Sanji looked on as Zoro did at their target, exhaling an uncertain breath as he heard the switch click.

He knew he was screaming but he couldn't hear himself, tunneling through a ghost world of Zoro's thoughts and memories. He saw who he could only assume was Zoro's father, teaching at the Dojo where Zoro came from in Japan. His heart wrenched when he saw Kuina with him, sparring with Zoro, training in the art of swordsmanship those two knew so well.

The view shifted slightly and it turned to Kuina pinning Zoro down smugly, laughing as Zoro struggled under her.

Sanji could hear a whisper of their voices  _'We'll be the greatest Jaeger pilots one day.'_

Images of meeting Luffy and Ace, the D brothers, pilots of Dragon's Son.

Talking happily with that scaredy-cat techie Usopp late at night in the man's tiny workshop, going over details for Pirate Hunter.

Images of Zoro's first Jaeger fight, with the Kaiju nicknamed 'Pearl shield'. Sanji knew that one, he had been there; the beast had threatened to destroy his home, kill both him and his father, but Pirate Hunter had saved them. He didn't have time to wonder if Zoro was seeing this memory through Sanji's eyes as more images trailed on.

Meeting Sanji.

Sanji didn't remember feeling as confident as he looked there, he looked so well kept through Zoro's eyes. His hair looked like it flowed just right, his small smirk had a mischievous draw to it. In reality, he had been a nervous wreck when he met his young hero Zoro, he thought he was going to have a heart attack.

The moment Kuina died. Ripped away from him, leaving him cold and empty in the broken cockpit of his defeated Jaeger.

The drift spat them back out to reality in what had only been a fraction of a second, gasping and panting, their limbs shaking slightly.

"Holy shit." Sanji whispered to himself. The Kaiju was almost upon them. They both took a hesitant step back, widening their stance for more balance.

"You ready to fight, Sanji?" Zoro's husky voice called over to him. Sanji took a deep breath and together they brought up the Jaeger's arms into fighting position. Adrenaline shot through his veins, his limbs didn't feel like lead anymore: Sanji could feel Zoro's wrathful energy and bloodlust flowing into him.

"Let's beat this fucker down."


End file.
